So it was the 4th of July and where was baseball on TV? Except for the Phillies and a local minor league game, here it was nada. C'mon, folks, baseball on the 4th is a given! Also shocking: the scant 17,000 who showed up in Tampa for a Rays game. Gosh.
As fireflies danced through lowering fog, I listened in the dark to the thrilling end of the Phillies game. Last night's game paired minor league call-up J.A. Happ against Johan Santana of the Mets. Happ was effective for four, then lost his command and walked three in the fifth. With 2 outs, the bases loaded, and 2 runs in, Happ gave way to Chad Durbin, who struck out Carlos Beltran. Durbin, who has been a revelation in the 'pen, went on to strike out 5 of the 6 men he faced in the next two innings. The Phillies came back to tie the game in the 6th on two RBI singles by Howard and Burrell, and there it stayed till the 9th. Sanatana too was effective, while the Phillies bullpen continued to be spectacular. In the 9th, Santana, who had thrown just 95 pitches, gave way to Douaner Sanchez. He struck out Howard and Burrell, then gave up a sharp double to Pedro Feliz. With a 1-2 count on Victorino, the flyin' Hawaiian laced a single to right. Feliz scored standing, guys jumped the rail, the Phillies won 3-2. Fireworks!
Charlie Manuel, by the bye, was looking good in the special dark-blue caps worn by all teams for the 4th of July.
